More studies needed to establish the benefits of vitamin C for sepsis

The authors of this review examined 21 papers about the use of intravenous vitamin C in the case of sepsis, and found 3 relevant studies. While these studies report very positive outcomes, they have a small sample size. The authors recommend larger, multicenter, randomized trials to establish the potential benefits of intravenous vitamin C for sepsis.

Abstract

A shortcut review was carried out to establish whether the use of intravenous vitamin C can reduce mortality or morbidity in patients diagnosed in the early phases of severe sepsis. Three directly relevant papers were found using the reported search strategy. The author, date and country of publication; patient group studied; study type; relevant outcomes; results and study weaknesses of the best papers are tabulated. It is concluded that there is insufficient high-quality research to justify the routine use of vitamin C in severe sepsis. Further multicentre, double-blinded randomised controlled trials are required in order to establish the role of vitamin C in sepsis.